Selling second-hand goods offers several benefits, including promoting societal sustainability objectives by encouraging reuse of goods. Further, owners can earn extra spending money while simultaneously clearing out space for new items to be purchased. Owners of second-hand goods can sell these items through commerce-based websites and mobile applications. For example, a seller can post a second-hand item for sale via an online marketplace which enables a free exchange of items through the Internet. The posted sale item may include images of the item, a description of the item, reviews of the seller by other buyers with previous dealings, request for bids on the item, contact information of the seller, and the like. The content of the post can be viewed and interacted with by potential buyers through the website or the mobile app. In many cases, the online marketplace and the mobile application may facilitate communication between the seller and a potential buyer through various options, including an in-app chat window, push notifications, a text message conversation, an email exchange, or simply letting the buyer and seller list their email address and/or phone number information.
Various online marketplaces enable buyers to ship their second-hand items to sellers through the website or through a third party. However, shipping items can be expensive given that a second-hand item is often sold for only a small fraction of its original value. As a result, many sellers prefer to meet with the buyer and make the exchange (for payment), in-person, which can be a dangerous proposition. Online marketplaces may initially protect users by hiding geographical locations of the users. As a result, the buyer and seller may not be able to determine a convenient geographical location for the exchange without divulging their actual location to one another.
Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwise described, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood to refer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative size and depiction of these elements may be exaggerated or adjusted for clarity, illustration, and/or convenience.